I took my son on his first backpacking trip to Dinosaur Valley and we hiked portions of the white, Denio Creek, yellow and blue trails.

The trail starts by fording the Paluxey river, which runs a little over knee deep on an adult. My son worried about crossing it again if it rained overnight.

Just before arriving at the campsite, I slipped while trying to cross Denio Creek and spent the rest of the time w/ wet hiking boots. Fortunately, I had my amphibious shoes to run around in.

We camped at primitive site #2 next to Denio creek. The creek had an approximately three foot deep swimming hole right next to our camp site which my son spent most of the afternoon splashing around in. We did leave the swimming hole when a gaggle of kids came up the trail and jumped in the pool and proceeded to pull rocks and logs off the bottom of the pool, stirring up sediment and completely clouding the water.

We looked for the scenic overlook at the end of the blue trail, but failed to find it.

It rained that night, and the tent I had bought for moving into backpacking and out of car camping failed to keep us dry.

The next day we met my wife and daughters and spent the day visiting dinosaur tracks, eating a picnic and playing in the Paluxey river.

Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites: New EditionLaurence Parent
List Price: $27.95
Our price: $18.81
Since it was first published in 1996, Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites has become Texans’ one-stop source for information on great places to camp, fish, hike, backpack, swim, ride horseback, go rock climbing, view scenic landscapes, tour historical sites, and enjoy almost any other outdoor recreation.